Expectations
by TheIncredibleDancingBetty
Summary: Once again Raph and his family are traveling through space with a few extra in toe. New enemies from an old form are getting their clutches on the galaxie's alien species and it is up to the turtles to help. Raph POV, SEQUEL TO EXPECTING PLEASE R
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own the TMNT

A/N: Alright...this is kinda long coming, isn't it? Sequel to Expecting. The problem was that I couldn't think up a sufficient idea, and also that I was too busy with work, health, and other plot bunnies that refused to be ignored. But it's out, finally. I'm going to try to write it in a similar format to Expecting, with beginning inserts by Raph who is, of course, telling the story. I fully realize that starting this might be a mistake, I got two other stories in the works right now. Three stories at a time. Then again maybe this will help me get those going faster as well. Agh. I'll write more when I think about it. This takes place almost right after Expecting ended, which was a year from escaping to Earth. After this, I need to get onto my other story Nightmare, ideas are bursting out of my head with that one!

Chapter 1

Visitor

Damn. Can't believe that I'm doing this again. You'd think that I'd of gotten it out of my friggin system before, eh? Well, no. That would be too perfect. Fate don't like me. Ah, screw fate. Well, anyway, the story's continuin' whether you like it or not so suck it up. Now, to start this stupid thing, we were basically living as we did before, only with two new additions of course. Yeah, I'm talking about the brats. Yet, I couldn't get that sai, the one sent to me, out of my mind...

* * *

I woke fitfully, my mind dragging me from the sound slumber that I so rightly deserved. Furiously I fought it. Stay asleep, damnit. Stay asleep! 

Screw it.

Giving up I rolled onto my back with a sigh. It was all Leo's fault that I couldn't sleep. He's the one that announced that the kids needed their own room. So he got everyone working on clearing up one of the storage rooms and scraping the crap off of the walls. Don built them new beds, cause he was certain that at the rate that they were growing compared to human babies, they'd outgrow their cribs soon. Yeah. Brilliant. As soon as he set them in their new rooms, Isis jumped on her bed and fell off. It was about then that we put on modified bedrails. Don, the turtle genius, couldn't think of that ahead of time. Right.

Well, in any case, this is their first night over in their own rooms. They used to sleep in mine. Right over there. Damn, does that wall ever look blank.

And I can't sleep.

At first I couldn't sleep because they were too damn noisy. First it was the crying, then as they got older, Isis sucks on her knuckles and Kento snores. It was hell. And now I can't friggin sleep without it! Gives a lot of time for thought, though.

I'm not so sure how I'll do as a parent. Most the time I lose my temper and one of my brothers or Sensei has to pick up after me. I end up acting how I want, then my own frigging kids team up on me. There's a conspiracy, I'm sure of it.

Shit, I must sound like one of those wacko's with tin foil wrapped around their head.

I shifted in my hammock, my arm dangled down. My finger brushed my sai. Both of them. Once again for the millionth time I rolled over and looked at them. I had two now, no longer one. You wouldn't realize the significance of this unless you knew the story. What happened a year ago. For a full year I had only one sai, the other being on another planet. The last time I'd seen it, it was clasped in the hand of the woman that I love, covered with the blood of the woman that I hate. Yeah, ain't life fun?

I had ended up getting pregnant (don't ask) because of some funky power-chromosome relationship in this alien species. I went to a different planet with Vivid to fix it, since apparently I was targeted because I had untapped power that allowed me to give birth to a boy. By, uh, marrying or 'bonding' with me before the birth, the woman would get the power from the son, otherwise the son would keep it. It was about then that the whole thing escalated into mass hysteria, crumbling palaces, assassinations, and general death overall. Plus Leo had to deliver my kids. Hell, that was just plain embarrassing.

I had been paying attention to Kento, who, apparently, is supposed to have inherited the power from me. So far I've seen no sign of it. Then again, I haven't been able to use it either. Maybe it's a situational thing. The only reason I was able to use it before was because I was in a situation where my martial arts wouldn't help. I haven't been in that perdicament since I got back to Earth (man that sounds wierd) so maybe that's it. Then again, I wasn't able to use it _before_ I got pregnant either, when I'd had it all along. The powers had normally been held soley by the females, part of the reason why males had such low status for the Elentials. Their powers were mostly elemental, hence their name, but females could mostly control only air and water. Males were stronger in earth and fire, which gave me the edge since I was at that time the only male with power. They could also 'mist,' where they basically vaporised into...well...mist. And in extreme cases, using a lot of energy and strenght could do minor shapshift and short range teleport. I had only seen the last two done by Vivid when I first met her. Normally there wasn't too much cause to use it. I wasn't seeing any power in me right now, as I've said haven't used it in a while. Not too worried about it, didn't need it before; don't need it now. Maybe it'll keep more intergalactic babes from hunting me down.

See, that's the thing...this other sai shouldn't be here. I recieved it in the mail today. Er, actually I just found it addressed to me. I studied them some more. They look the same. You'd of never guessed that she had it on another planet. I couldn't help but think that maybe it meant that she was still alive. I mean, it was possible, right? Who else would've sent it? Who else would've dug it out of under tons of debris from the fallen palace? No one that I could think of. The mere thought that she might still be alive gave me an odd feeling inside. Really warm, wobbly. Excited. It was so uncharactaristic from my normal attitude that at first I thought I was going wacko. It took me a little bit to realize that I loved her, I even proposed and she accepted. So she must feel the same, right? Of course, otherwise she wouldn't have said yes. But if that was true, then why would she send my sai without coming herself? Maybe she couldn't come for some reason, and she wanted to send a message that she was still alive.

In that case, my first thought was that she was in trouble, maybe she managed to send me that sai as a cry for help. Either way I wanted to see her again. I could still picture her clearly in my mind as though she were standing right in front of me. She had red hair so bright it was almost flourescent. It nearly glowed. Her blue eyes were the same way. She had white skin, flawless. She was different from most Elentials in that she was tall, very tall. So were her two sisters, Heartfelt and Blush. This was probably because her father was a red Triceratron. Most of their kind were very petite. I'm not a very tall guy, er, turtle, and even I was taller than the rest of them.

I hadn't shown the sai to my family yet. I don't know why, maybe I wanted to think a few things over first. Plus it wasn't just us that we were thinking about anymore, either. The kids had to come into play, they got in the way of things. That probably sounds wrong, but it's true. They've actually stopped me from dissappearing to do night patrols whenever I like. Even times when I'm sure that they'll be taken care of sometimes I'm still reluctant to leave them. I still don't know exactly why I feel that way, it's just something about them. They're a part of me...

I blinked. My eyes were clear. Damn. I'm not going to sleep tonight. With a grunt I roll off the bed and quietly go out of my room. The second I set foot out the doorway something definetly struck me as wrong. Involuntarily tensing up, I survey the scene. For all intents and purposes it looks completely normal. The lights are off. The kitchen is empty, so is the living area, the dojo, everything. Puzzled, I scratch my head. What could give me this feeling, then?

Maybe I'm just jumpy. Yeah, that's it. Just need to see the tykes.

Hefting the weight of the sai once more, I tucked them in my belt. Slinking down the walkway, I slowly peered through the cracked door of my kids room. The first thing that I saw was an empty bed and at once my heart leapt in my chest. I was about to bound in there when I saw the other bed, Isis's bed. Two little forms bundled under the covers. I understood. They were proud to get their own room, plus they knew from experience how I was when they woke me up. Kento probably got lonely and opted to cuddle with his sister rather than wake me up. I stared at them. They both shifted restlessly. Didn't seem like they were getting much more sleep than I was. Silently I backed out, closing the door behind me with a soft click.

I sighed. Even after a year, I still wasn't used to this feeling that I got when I looked at them. Kinda warmish, and solid. Don't really know how to describe it but I know that it makes me feel good. Really good.

Slowly I crept down to the kitchen. Opening up the cupboard I pulled out a bag of chips. Half of it was already gone. Damn Mikey was a pig, we just bought this! Grumbling to myself I shuffled over to the beaten couch and flopped down. I picked up the remote...

_creak_

I froze. Slowly turning my head, I scanned my surroundings once more. Nothing had changed. That feeling I had before pounded at me again with increasing intensity. Something was amiss. Setting down the bag I eased myself up and drew my sai, standing on the balls of my feet. Slowly, with infinite care, I started a patrol of the immidiate area. Once again, everything simply looked normal. I passed the basic living area. Nothing to report. Took a look in the dojo. Nada. Don's lab, zip.

Then I approached the main entrance, the one accessible from the sewers, not the elevator. I felt a stank breeze. I froze and whipped around.

The door was open.

All my sensors were on high alert, every muscle taut. My fists tightened on my sai as I did a quick sidestep into the deeper shadows. Stealthily, I stepped lightly along the perimeter, every sense keen on detecting where the intruder might be.

_rattle_

The kitchen. I was just there! I dashed over in a low sprint, sai drawn. I saw a shadow being cast across the cabinets. I knew exactly where that sucker was, he's dead.

The muscles in my legs tightened and I sprang into the air. The intruder didn't pause from what he was doing and continued to shuffle in the fridge. Clueless. I collided with the figure in the dark, the only faint light being cast by the open fridge. The person put up surprisingly little resistance, crumpling to the floor under my weight. He hit the floor with an _oof_ and was still for a moment. In an instant I had both arms pinned and had my legs tight against his thighs, classic wrestling move. He had small wrists so he just made it easy. The tip of my sai was pointed to the area just behind the ear. This fella had a lot of explaining to do...

Instead of the fight that I expected him to put up, he merely whimpered and squirmed a bit. I glared at the back of his head. Everything was shrouded in blackness. I growled and pressed the tip of the sai harder against his head. Immediately he froze. "Alright buddy, what the hell do you think you're doin-"

"Raph? Is that you?"

My heart stopped for an instant and I choked. I recognized that voice, damn I recognized that voice!

Last time I saw the person that voice belonged to, he was heavily pregnant and waddling around with his wife, Blush.

"Kartal?"

"Uh huh..."

"Shit!"

* * *

A/N: Alright, first chapter didn't quite pan out how I expected it to, but I'm satisfied nonetheless. I wrote this in about a million five minute intervals at work, so forgive me if it seems a bit chopped...because it is. But heaven help me, even when I read over it I just can't seem to hit that delete button for anything. Hope you enjoyed it anyway. 

Remember, if you read it, review it please! You know how it can inspire! _wink wink wink_

Toodles!


	2. Visitors

Disclaimer: I don't own the TMNT

A/N:Wow! I would've thought that people forgot about Expecting, but I guess that people liked it more than I realized! Thank you so much for the reviews! Give me any tips or thoughts that you wish, you know that I love'm!

Chapter 2

Visitors

Yeah. Wasn't expecting Kartal to show up, were ya? Well, me neither. He's lucky that I didn't pop him a new one. Sure was in a perfect position for it, I'll tell ya that. But in any case, I'll admit that I was glad to see him. Haven't seen the dude for a year, ya know? He sure looked different than I remember, though. He isn't waddling around like a freakin beach ball. I guess that I shouldn't really talk about that, considering that I was in a similar state. But he was just freakin' hilarious. A Federation librarian. Yeah. Not kidding. At the moment that I, uh, jumped him I couldn't help but think 'who else is with him?' Is Vivid with him? I don't know why, but I kinda have mixed feelings about it. I mean, where was she? Why did she wait so long? I guess that I'll find out soon enough...

* * *

Kartal looked up at me, his face stricken for a moment as I sat there on top of him, pinning him down in the dark with my sai to his flesh. I guess that I can create an imposing figure considering. I grinned at him and hoisted myself to my feet in one smooth motion, slipping both sai into my belt. I reached out my hand to him. Without thinking he clasped it and I practically yanked him to his feet. He stumbled unsteadily for a bit then stood in front of me, both of us silent for a moment. Then, with a high pitched squeal he flung himself on me. 

Not even the quickest ninja could've avoided the embrace, although I'll admit that I didn't make much of an effort to escape it. I silently returned it as he hugged tighter. Lucky for me I had a shell otherwise he'd probably of snapped my ribs in two. I couldn't help but grin.

Finally he separated me, his eyes dancing. "Raph! I've wanted to see you forever! How are you doing? How are your kids? What did you name them? Can I see them? I haven't met your father yet, is he here? Can I meet him? How are they?

For a librarian he sure isn't quiet. My bros are probably were probably up already. But his excitement was contagious. I cocked a grin. "Now you can't expect me to answer all those at once!" He grinned wider but as I looked at him memories came flooding back fresher than I remembered before. The planet, the explosion...her... My grin fell of of my face and I looked at him somberly. He looked into my eyes, as though trying to read me. "Kartal, I wanna know what happened...after I left, ya know? Where...where is she?"

He opened his mouth to answer, but at that moment, a door slammed open. Instinctively I turned towards the sound. Kartal peered after me. Donny came rushing out of his room, his door still vibrating from its impact to the wall. He froze when he saw me, his eyes wide. Wait, were his cheeks red? Still looking disheveled and uncomfortable, he broke away from my stare and made a mad dash for the bathroom. He dissappeared with the slam of the door.

OK...?

A slim white hand appeared on his doorframe, followed by a muscular but dainty arm, a buxom figure and a wealth of blood-red hair. I stared at her as Heartfelt sensually sauntered out of Don's room, looking so pleased with herself that I was surprised that she wasn't preening. Her eyes caught mine and she blinded me with a dazzling smile that they could probably see from space.

I looked from the bathroom where Don was hiding to Heartfelt and back again. "What did you do to him?"

Making a show of twiddling her fingers and looking down in exaggerated innocence she mumbled cutely. "Ummm. I don't know..." Absentmindedly she slipped a loose shirt sleeve back on her shoulder. She looked back up at me with a grin. "It's nice to see you again, Raphael."

"What's going on here?" Leo darted out of his room and opened his mouth to speak again. As soon as he caught sight of HF and Kartal, however, his face broke into a grin. Everyone jumped in surprise as Mikey's loud squeal echoed through the area. Bouncing in out of nowhere he caught hold of Kartal-the first one in reach-and gave him a hug. Excited and looking oddly relieved he hugged the turtle back.

I heard the familiar sound of Sensei's door slide open. He stood at the entrance, slightly disheveled from bed, staring at the scene before him with confusion and some alarm. Then I remembered, although we told him all about our adventure to Elentia, he'd never met any of them. Leo was the first to hop to his aid, of course.

"Sensei, these are some of our friends that we met last year when we went to find Raph. This is Kartal" he motioned towards him."And this is Heartfelt." Showing off, she did a sweet curtsy in her short, flowy skirt.

Recovering from his shock quickly, Spinter smiled warmly. "Well, I must say that this is a surprise, but you are all welcome nonetheless. It is a pleasure to meet you all."

Putting on a more serious expression, Heartfelt looked around a bit nervously. "Um, guys, we can't just be standing here..."

Growling slightly, I looked at Kartal once again. "You still haven't told me what happened with Vivid."

He looked around for a place to hide. "Uh, Raph, it's kinda complicated..."

"Where is Donatello?" Splinter asked curiously, searching the room for the purple clad turtle.

"Really, we have to get moving..." Heartfelt tried again.

"In the bathroom." Mikey answered Splinter with a giggle.

"I don't want to hear 'complicated,' I want a straight answer!" I pestured Kartal. It was getting difficult to concentrate with all this talking back and forth.

"Why would he be in the restroom?" The rat was perplexed.

Beginning to get angry, Heartfelt crossed her arms, glaring at us. "They're coming, we have to leave before they arrive..."

"Really, Raph, now's not the time..." Kartal dodged my gaze.

Leo and Mikey grinned at each other as they answered Splinter's question. "I don't think you want to know."

"Damnit, Kartal!" I reached for him.

"What's going on Daddy?" An extremely tired Isis and Kento appeared at the doorway, rubbing the sleep out of their eyes.

"We don't have time!!!" Heartfelt stomped her foot.

"Quit squirming!" I growled through clenched teeth as I tightened my hold on Kartal's arm. "Gimme a straight answer!"

Kento and Isis made their way over to the crowd and Donny finally peeked from behind the bathroom door.

I wrenched Kartal closer to me and glared into his eyes. He hesitated, but when I tightened my grip he gulped and finally spoke. "You see, Raph, this is what happened..."

"Daddy!"

"Guys!"

"My sons?"

"Heartfelt?"

"Raph!"

**"ENOUGH!!!**"

Everyone, including me, froze as the thunderous voice bellowed throughout the Lair. In unison, we all turned to look at the huge triceratron who now stood in front of the elevator, glaring at the entire crowd. I recognized him in an instant.

My future father in-law, Amuke, glared at everyone from his stand. He looked different, in this short year his skin had attracted an elaborate network of scars. Plus it looked like at some point he had lost a chunk of muscle from his left calf, judging from the ice-cream-scoop depression. He was also missing the tip of his right horn. Yet he still made more than an imposing figure, somehow the scarring even added to the ferocious image that he portrayed.

He practically stomped down the short walkway, his heavy tail inches from the ground. His attention went straight to Heartfelt. "Have you told them yet? We are waiting too long as it is."

She threw him a look and narrowed her eyes slightly. "I _tried_ to, but they wouldn't shut up long enough for me to get a word in edgewise!"

I rolled my eyes, seeing a prime opportunity. "Oh, so that's what you were doing in Donny's room!"

Somehow her face got paler than before and she did her best to look demure in front of her father. He glared at her. "I'll talk with you later." She winced, but nodded. "Right now we have no time." Turning to Splinter he did a slight bow. "I have heard about you, Splinter, but unfortunately we'll have to cut the greetings short. We must go. Now."

He opened his mouth in protest but Amuke stopped him. "I am truly sorry to uproot you like this, but let me assure you that the situation is very serious. Our lives and that of everyone on Earth are at risk."

"But we can't just leave Earth behind!" Mikey protested.

He shook his massive head. "And we won't. But it is difficult to save someone from a burning building if you yourself are trapped inside as well. We must move."

Splinter looked ahead, stern. "Very well, I understand. But we will not leave alone."

Leo looked at the dinosaur. "We have friends, humans...we can't leave without them."

"It has been taken care of."

Me, Leo, and Mikey all started to talk at once but once again Amuke cut us off. He looked considerably more adgitated. "Enough talk. We must move. Now. Explanations will come later."

Amuke turned around, looking about somewhat nervously as my family scattered. The kids sleepily toddled over to me where they leaned against my leg, practically snoozing while standing up. I did my best not to move too much. But nevertheless, I still needed answers.

"Amuke? What do you think you're pulling, doing all this? What's going on?"

He turned and stared at me with annoyance. "I should've realized, that out of your entire family you'd be the one pestering me for details despite the situation. As I said earlier, I will explain at a later time." His gaze turned lower at the two sleepy brats clinging to my leg with their blankets and his gaze softened for a moment. "Then again, you're situation has changed. I suppose that you are merely dealing."

Gnashing my teeth I stopped him from turning around by grabbing his arm. Immediately he whipped towards me, eyes flashing. The muscles beneath my fingers rippled and tightened as he raised his lip ever-so-slightly, revealing pointed teeth. Staring him in the eye I refused to remove my hand despite his obvious warning. Then, suddenly, he grabbed at my wrist. Well, I should say that he grabbed half my _arm_, his hand enveloping my entire hand and forearm, and jerked me forward so harshly that I'm surprised my arm didn't pop out of it's socket. Sure hurt like hell, though.

"Raphael, why don't you leave first? That way we can keep you out of the way and you can get your children settled." I growled at his mocking tone, but before I could react he had released me and was walking away towards the elevator. After a moment's indecision, I started after him.

"Daddy, where you going?" Kento mumbled, rubbing his eye with a balled fist. I crouched down to his level and before I said anything he jumped up to my arms. I clasped them around him instinctively, holding him close. "Are we going too? Can we?" He said into my neck.

Isis, however, didn't even wait for an invitation or explanation. Face split into a wide smile, she held her blanket wide and bolted after the triceraton as fast as her chubby legs could carry her. Making no attempt to stiffle my annoyed growl, I scooped up my son and took after my daughter. She followed Amuke into the elevator, perching herself happily by his side. She looked up at him with a grin, which he returned warmly. I barely made it into the elevator on time.

I glared at Isis and she had the decency to look shamed. We'd have a talk later.

Amuke and I stood wordlessly as the elevator went up.

I finally turned to the triceraton and glared at him. "There'd better be a damned good explanation for all this crud."

Without glancing my way he nodded grimly..._too_ grimly. "I assure you, Raphael, there is."

"Shit, I was afraid of that."

* * *

A/N: I know, sucky place to end but I've been struggling through this chapter for SO long I just had to. The next chapter is already flowing out much easier. Things have also been hectic lately, but has been slowing down. So FINALLY I have had time to sit down and type. The next chapters will come at a quicker pace than this, let me assure you. The next one that I'm punching out is Nightmare, so be on the lookout. Tell me what you think of this chapter so that I might make improvements. If you read it, review it!

Toodles!


	3. Explanations

Disclaimer: I don't own the TMNT

A/N:I was on such a roll with my story Nightmare that for a little bit this was put on the backburner, kind of. Well, here is the next chapter, hope that you enjoy it!

Chapter 3

Explanations

Damn! What the hell are they thinking! First Kartal pops in unnanounced, then HF. Well, I'm kinda good like that. If you call surprised and pissed off good. Hmpf. But then Amuke shows up, and you know how well I get along with that scaly hide, and tells us that we have to flee our own friggin' homes! Who put him on his friggin high horse, eh? Where does he get off uprooting my family like this? Especially Sensei, he had no right! And my brothers, they actually _listened _to the dinosaur. They completely ignored me trying to get the info we needed! What the hell! Then he doesn't even have the decency to tell us _why_ he's doing this!!! The least he could do is give a brief explanation, I mean _somethin'_ would be nice, wouldn't it? You would thing so. He's probably just doing this to piss me off, that's it. Well it's working! _Growl._ Of course, Isis didn't make it any easier resisting him. Little brat. She just _had_ to run in the elevator with him. Of course, technically he _is _her grandfather, but still...Yeah. It just kinda ruined the moment. She did look kinda cute, though...AHEM! Anyway, I guess that we should continue with the story at hand, huh? Well, quit your bellyaching, here it is...

* * *

I don't know why my bros and Splinter had started to gather everything so quickly. I didn't like it. In fact, if I hadn't had to chase after my daughter, then I would still be standing in the Lair, stubbornly refusing to move (yes, I'll admit that I have a slight stubborn streak). I wanted information. Why do this? Where is Vivid? I swear, I'll pummell that bookworm if he doesn't tell me. Then again, maybe I don't want to know. He was hesitant to tell me...why? Is she still dead? Sometimes, I think being ignorant of her death and still harboring a hope that she's alive is better than the truth. And about us leaving? If it's urgent enough for them to do this... 

I didn't say a word to Amuke as we traveled up the elevator. The thing reached the top, and as soon as the door opened I felt that killing Amuke would be justifiable homicide.

The warehouse that we used had a gaping hole in it and a skif easily the size of three RV's had somehow wedged itself between the tunneler and battleshell. Little bits of insulation and other crap was still floating lazily to the floor. Bright sunlight streamed in and you had a perfect view of the New York skyline. The surprised, confused, excited voices of people could be heard on the other side of the wall. They were getting louder, more numerous. The word _alien_ could be heard plainly. On top of that, sirens could be easily heard in the distance. They were getting closer. Scratch that. I could already see blue and red lights flashing against the walls.

Shit!

With a growl I turned to Amuke. "What the f#k do you think your doing you friggin bonehead! This is our _home_!!! You've exposed our home! Don't you know better than to crash an alien spacecraft through a building in broad f#king daylight!!! DAMN!"

He walked towards the skif without so much as a word. Gnashing my teeth at him I yanked out my sai. _I_ know how to make him friggin listen!

Then I saw Isis prancing happily beside her grandfather, completely oblivious to the chaos around her. For a brief second I considered attacking him anyway...but no. That would have to wait. Sometimes I hate what these kids are doing to me. Look at me now, I'm actually being patient! It really _is_ chaotic!

Not even bothering to let him walk, I scooped up Kento and carried him under my arm as I charged after the triceraton. I'd wait. Seeing how he's completely blown the whole 'secrecy' thing, we'd have to find temporary shelter elswhere anyway. As much as I hate to admit it, I think I'll go along with him for now.

As soon as the skif thatch opened April and Casey practically spilled out of it. "Raph!" Casey exclaimed. "You won't believe this-"

"Try me." I muttered.

He paused, then gave me a quizical look and cocked a grin. "Ah, I can tell an unhappy face when I see one. You wanna take down the big guy? I'll back you up."

I started to seriously consider his offer when the rest of my family spilled out. The condition of the warehouse flipped them out, basically. They wouldn't have gotten into that skif any faster than if dwarves were chasing after them poking them in the a$$ with red hot pokers.

By now the sirens were very loud, by the sound of them they were probably parked outside. The unmistakable sound of umpteen guns being cocked and loaded filled the air. The crowd was very loud by now, half shouting 'death to the aliens' and the other half asking if we came in peace. What complete morons.

Finally everyone was inside and we closed the thatch. After much milling around everyone plunked their rear in a seat, which was set up along the walls like in a military C-140 plane. I could tell that Isis wanted to sit down with her 'new friend' but I gave her no choice as I strapped her down beside her brother. Glaring at me with angry little eyes she pouted. I let her. Lotta good it would do.

The skif itself sat on stilted legs about seven or so feet off the ground. The windshild of the craft, if you could call it that, covered so much area that I'm surprised it didn't shatter when we walked in. Wonder if Elentials use glass or if it's something else? Either way, we had a good view of what was happening.

Police cars, unmarked black SUV's and cars, even a friggin animal control van were all parked outside. By now the sirens were silenced but the air was cut with countless spinning blue and red lights. Using everything from doors to the hood for cover, a lot of guys wearing kevlar and helmets were poised with military-looking rifles.Other officers were struggling to keep a growing crowd on the right side of the yellow tape that was already strung up. I commend them for thier efforts, because the crowd was angry, they were excited as a fat man amongst girl scouts selling cookies. In the background I could see a few helicopters, at least one from every news station within a 100mile radius along with the police and SWAT choppers. They'll probably be kicked out of the sky by the FBI any second.

No friggin wonder Amuke wanted us to hurry.

At the front of the controls Amuke sat with HF as copilot. Kartal sat at an odd looking console type thing a few feet from them in the middle. Already Amuke was flipping switches, turning knobs and pushing buttons. Kartal was bringing up funny looking clear screens and was doing something to them. It is times like this that I kinda wish I knew about electronic stuff.

In any case, I could feel as the legs of the skif folded themselves up and the ramp leading up to the thatch slid itself in. This was a new skif, we hovered without a single jolt. _"You in there, you are surrounded. Please come out with all...appendages in the air and we can deal with this peacefully."_

HF smiled as she pushed a button. "Aw, how cute! They're trying to communicate."

Amuke, grim faced, continued working the last few controls. "We must leave. They'll be coming."

She nodded, face serious, and pushed at the wheel. The skif's nose dipped then we surged forward faster than I thought possible from a dead stop. We flew out of the warehouse and straight over the crowd. We were going so fast that I saw at least a dozen people get bowled over from the wind. We were out of sight in an instant. I nodded to myself; yep. New skif.

Naturally, once we were in the 'safe zone' I demanded answere. Luckily for me, I wasn't the only one this time.

Splinter shifted in his seat to get comfortable. "Amuke, now that we are out, I must know what was so urgent for you to come for us in such a manner."

"Yeah, dude!" Mikey looked at him.

Donny stroked his chin and exchanged glances with Leo. "With the way we came out, and the manner that you came to us, our Lair will undoubtedly be discovered."

"And don't think that I forgot about Vivid, either." I snarled. Kartal flinched slightly. I looked at them expectantly.

Without taking his eyes off the windshield, Amuke let out a sigh. He seemed...tired, somehow. Funny, I didn't notice this before. "I told you that the reason was valid, I was not stretching the truth. Look to your right, please."

I'm surprised the ship didn't tilt, we scrambled over there so fast. We had already left Earth behind, though it was still in view, the hulking broadside of the planet taking up a vast majority of our view, the rest dotted thick with stars. Other than that we couldn't see a damned thing. I was about to shout a few selected obsceneties at him when something else came into sight.

It was the nose of a spaceship. Or at least I think it was. It didn't look like metal, but maybe some type of fleshy substance. As though it were comprised of tendons and bones. The nose was thin, then fat, then...oh the hell with it. It was changing, is what I'm trying to say. As the entire thing came into view I heard Casey gag behind me. I knew how he felt. It was like a giant, pulsating stomach turned inside out. That's what haggus is, right?

We stayed crowded around the window for a moment longer before I finally broke free of them and swiveled my head towards Amuke. "I'm sure that it's pretty to look at, but you still haven't told us what the hell it is!"

"You see, that's the thing," HF cut in, turning in her chair to look at us. "We don't really know for sure."

"What do you mean?" Donny asked, looking at the floor. (Geesh, Don, get a spine!)

"Some think that they're aliens, some mutants, some just don't know. They look like humans, but - don't - at the same time. It's hard to explain." Amuke shook his head. "They definetly aren't humans, or not anymore, I can tell that for sure."

"How do you know all this?" Leo settled back in the chair, settling his ankle on his knee.

"They came to Elentia. Now it will never be the same again."

I snorted. "Is that all bad? I mean, it might just be me, but I wasn't too wild about the whole male pregnancy, sex slave, control thing. Besides, even though you chicks don't _look_ too tough, I know from experience that they pack quite a punch, both physically and supernaturally."

HF shook her head. She looked oddly...detached. What happened to her? "That may be the case, but none of us were prepared for _them_." She shuddered. Now this was getting interesting. I've seen her in action before, she was kick-butt to say the least. She continued. "They all look the same, but don't. They're all male, that's obvious. But it's as though they were cast from the same _mold_ or something. And they're ruthless. They're easily twice as big as us, and posses such speed, strength, and agility that I..." she looked helplessly at her hands. "I couldn't even get a hold of one!"

"They use energy." Amuke didn't take his eyes off the glass. "They take energy from everything around them. I saw one, when backed into a corner take so much energy from the surrounding trees to defend himself that they wilted right before my eyes until they were nothing but soggy piles. I haven't seen it, but I've heard that they can do the same to any living creature. God knows enough of us have 'mysteriously' dissappeared without a single trace of them to be found again." He sighed. "Once they have the energy, they can redirect it. It isn't like using the elements, as we do. From what I've seen and heard, it's like telepathy and telekinesis mixed into one."

"Really?" Don's interest was thoroughly peaked. All embarrassment forgotten, he looked at them with avid interest. "What are the strenghts? How do they use it? How much energy do they have to amass?"

"I've seen people get limbs torn off, get thrown across the air. You can't keep a secret from them, they'll read your mind. Pick out your thoughts. If they want to, they can even make you overload." She sighed at the confused looks. "It's like your brain explodes. I've seen it from the outside, it's not pretty. You hear a popping sound, the eyes turn blood red; blood, spinal fluid, and _brain matter_ ooze out your ears." She shook her head. "Needless to say, you're dead."

He continued the explanation."They are looking for something. We're not quite sure what, in fact I don't even think that they know themselves. Apparently they're...breaking down somehow. I don't know all the details of it, understandably they are secretive about it. There's something that they need to find, it needs to fit certain, uh, qualifications. And this something could possibly save them. At the same time, they're looking for means to...reproduce. None of them were born, in the sense that you and I were. They want to seek a continuance of thier kind."

"That's what I meant;" Kartal cut in, looking at the floor, "When I said that it's complicated."

A light turned on inside me. "This has to do with Vivid, doesn't it? Tell me!"

"You always were a hothead, Raphael. We're getting to that." Amuke mumbled. My eyeridges raised. Amuke said that?

"So," April leaned forward in her seat. "What are they doing here?"

"They are through with Elentia. They cleaned it out. Earth is next."

Damn freakin' turtle luck.

* * *

A/N: I hope that I was thorough enough in the explanations. If anyone doesn't understand everything, just tell me what and I'll try to put in some more info in the next chapter. In any case, I hope that you enjoyed it. Even though I know the basic plot of this, as with the first in this series, I am requesting any and all ideas or predictions that you may have for it. I welcome it! Last time, those helped to spark so many great scenes, I'd love to repeat that! 

Remember, if you read it, review it!

Toodles!


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